


A new world of magic

by CallGodAHeretic (UndisputedPokerChamp), UndisputedPokerChamp



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: BAMF Harry Potter, Familiars, Manipulative Albus Dumbledore, Obscurus!Harry, Severitus | Severus Snape is Harry Potter's Parent, Will update tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-01-12 09:35:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18443855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UndisputedPokerChamp/pseuds/CallGodAHeretic, https://archiveofourown.org/users/UndisputedPokerChamp/pseuds/UndisputedPokerChamp
Summary: Its been many centuries since Merlin walked the earth, and since then there has been none who show the same powers, leading many to think the tales were exaggerated if not outright false. I mean, having his mind connected to an owl? Preposterous! Any wizard knows things like familiars don't exist.A certain dragon and boy would both beg to differ.





	1. Chapter 1

  Out in the Romanian Dragon Preserve, the latest breeding season had gone fairly well. Of course, all that means is that none of the dragons went and killed each other. In terms of the next generation there was some disappointment at the results. Fewer females who had bred actually clutched than normal, and the clutches themselves, though few were brave enough to try and count, were smaller than expected. The residents of the preserve were worried. The dragons were all perfectly healthy, there was no reason for this years limited growth. They agreed to examine the preserve for anything new or threatening that could be stressing their charges.

  When nothing was found, they chalked it up to bad luck. It would be back to normal for them, and if the same happened next year, they’d just have to check again.

 

  One resident of the preserve in particular though, couldn’t quite let it go so easy. These dragons were his life, if something was making them sick he had to find out what it is. So far only the females had shown anything out of the ordinary, so he figured watching them more closely might offer some clue. He watched several dragons, each one getting a whole day to see what their routine was like. After working with these dragons for so many years, he’d started to pick up on the subtleties of their behaviour. Now, call him paranoid, but the females that hadn’t clutched looked tired. Their scales had lost some of their typical lustre, despite the dragons themselves still being quite young. Even the ones that had seemed out of it.

  The worst one though, was a Hungarian horntail called Cersei. It was assumed that she was one of the ones who failed to clutch this year, but as Charlie sat and observed her, he noticed a single suspiciously egg-shaped stone inside her lair. He waited for Cersei to fly off and hunt, but she didn’t. She would walk to the edge of her lair and beat her wings a few times, then cry out once before returning to her single child. Her condition was  _ terrible _ . He wouldn’t be surprised if she hadn’t eaten since laying the egg.

  It was difficult to get a cow to Cersei’s lair, and took the better part of an hour. The lady herself wasn’t all that interested in it though. Upon seeing the stunned cattle she climbed down from her den. With her nose to the ground she smelled for something else in the area. She laid by the cow and crooned. Charlie was at a loss. This wasn’t how dragons behaved, certainly not a horntail. He considered heading back and letting the others know how sick Cersei was, but was interrupted from that line of thought as the lady placed the lone egg on the ground in front of her. It didn’t make any sense! Mother dragons would protect their nest to the death, why would Cersei remove her egg from it? He got his answer as the lady gave her last attempt to save her baby. She needed to put her head practically on top of the egg for what little flame she had strength for to keep it warm. In true Gryffindor fashion, Charlie made the crazy choice to reveal himself to her. She stared at him, before giving one last flame over her egg and taking the cow back to her den.

  The egg was left there where Charlie could retrieve it. He promptly did so. 

 

  He tried to get one of the stronger mothers to care for it. They all refused, nosing it back out of their nest no matter how many times it was left there. The residents even tried getting another species to watch it. Still no luck. As Charlie was the one the egg was given to, it was decided that since none of the other dragons wanted to care for it, he could at least fill the role until it hatched.

  When it did hatch, Charlie was dismayed to see it shared the sicker dragons dull scales. Its---her---movements were sluggish as well. Cersei must have been sicker than he thought if her hatchling was in such a poor state. He brought some cut up chicken for her to feed on while he thought about what would happen to her. She obviously couldn’t be integrated with other hatchlings, she wouldn’t stand a chance against her healthier nestmates. Being so deep in thought he failed to notice said dragon fumbling towards him until she saw fit to give his hand a nasty nip.

  To say he jumped would be somewhat of an understatement.

“Oh, I’m sorry, did you need something else?” The startled hatchling shook itself off and went to investigate her eggshell. Meanwhile Charlie examined the mark the little tyke had left. Instead of an open wound like he expected, the wound looked to have scarred over in just a few seconds. The rest of the day was spent talking with the other workers about the hatchling and the strange bite. The only thing concrete that happened was that the hatchling was given the name Jadis. One she apparently approved of, since she nuzzled up to Charlie when he told her.

  As he’d predicted, none of the mothers would take the clearly unwell hatchling into their nest. There had been some hope that finding her a surrogate mother would be easier when she could move around and play with the other kids. With that out of the question it looked like she would need to be hand-raised if she was going to make it.

  As Charlie was the one to see her hatch, and her favourite sentry post, he got the job with little fuss. A year went by, in which Cersei died of whatever illness had plagued her, and once again the breeding success of the preserve fell. This time it wasn’t only the dragons that were having trouble. Other magical species in the park were suffering as well, with no clue as to what was causing the issue. Jadis on the other hand grew stronger by the day under Charlie’s care. She dreamt of her mission until it was time for the yearlings to leave their nests.

  She could sense the wards keeping her here, and knew the good-humans like Charlie wanted her to stay inside them. Nevertheless, she also knew that there was something she needed to do outside of them. In her egg she heard her mother tell her of how the air, earth, and water were dying, and that even the good-humans, who were survivors, were starting to suffer from whatever it was that made it happen. Mother could smell new magic in her, it would be her duty to fix what was wrong. She knew why the other mothers wouldn’t take her. They could all smell that she was different, like her mother had. She couldn’t stay here. With the blood she took from the first good-human she met, she had all she needed to begin her journey. 

  After saying goodbye to Charlie, she made for the wards. Her having the human blood in her veins made it so she could easily get through. The first thing she realized was how utterly dead the outside was. Inside the wards there were traces of energy left, though fading; out here it felt like all had been sucked dry ages ago. 

  She was forced to rest frequently, each time stopping to sense her possible targets before takeoff. Where could the magic have gone? On her way she passed by many creatures without magic. Some were like the food she ate at the reserve, only dull and barely palatable. She wondered why this food tasted worse than the other food, they were the same creature after all. The magic of the preserve everything made cleaner, even the meat of her food had its flavour. 

  That was it, wasn’t it. These creatures had no magic themselves, that was something any hatchling could tell. Any magic in them had to be stolen! The magic is fading because these mundane creatures are taking it all and leaving none for her and her kin! If they weren’t taken care of, all would die. Charlie had cared for her well, she determinedly used all reserves of her strength to make it to Scotland, where her mission would begin.

  Entering the new wards of Hogwarts was a welcome relief after the vast emptiness of the land before it. This place was practically drowning in magic! Good-humans like Charlie migrated here it seemed, and they renewed the magic held here whenever they did. The forest here would be a good place to set up her den. All she needed to do was steer clear of the small good-humans and she would be left alone to plot. 

 

  The gameskeeper of Hogwarts had ways of telling when something weird happened in the forest. Going in there as often as he did, it would be more surprising if he didn’t! This time though, this time the hubbub was a little bit bigger than a unicorn clipping their leg or such. When he went in, one of the centaurs came up to tell him of strange stars and a newcomer to the forest, a big one at that. He figured it’d be best if fang stayed home while he made the introductions to their new buddy.

  And what a buddy it was! Hagrid had always wanted to see a dragon up close one of these days, and what do you know, one shows up in his forest! It was a right small lad, couldn’t possibly be a grown-up. He must have been separated from his mummy a bit too soon then, to be all the way out here on his own. Looked like Hagrid would have to be the one to make sure he kept his nose clean for a bit. As nice as Headmaster Dumbledore was, he probably wouldn’t be all that happy with a dragon on school grounds.

  As things were, it was easy enough to keep him from heading towards the school, the lad didn’t seem all that interested in it anyways. The real challenge was figuring how to keep a growing boy like him fed. It wouldn’t do for him to start snacking on the other creatures in the forest. His salary might cover the cost of a few chickens maybe.

  Sadly, he didn’t have to figure it out, because a week after he arrived, Dorcas(Hagrid thought it was a lovely name for him,)up and flew off into the sunset. He would have liked the boy to stay around a tad longer, if only to say goodbye.

 

  Jadis had recovered quickly in the rich area of Hogwarts. The chickens the half-giant gave her certainly didn’t hurt. After she had recovered in her den, it was time to go out and find the next part of her task. In her rest she used the time to sense the lines of power that bore a connection to Hogwarts, and picked out the strongest one. In fact, it was not one line, but three that all went to the same human. That strangeness must mean they were important somehow, she would have to find them and see to their safety. Her dreams told her what she needed to know. The human’s face was clear in her mind, and the lines easy to follow.

  The dreams also told her to stay unseen. She would be in danger if the bad-humans saw her so soon. The blood from Charlie would help. She followed the lines to a herd of bad-humans before moving the good-human blood through her veins, and shrinking. She walked among the bad-humans as one of them, grabbing some coverings to stay hidden. Slowly but surely, she made her way to her target.

 

  Harry was sitting in his cupboard for the afternoon, seeing he had all his chores done. He might have been able to step out into the garden to do some weeding, but he was tired after his day at school. It was hard sometimes. He tried to be good like Dudley, but found out it was bad for some reason. His schoolwork couldn’t be too good, that was bad. The other children didn’t like talking to him because he was bad. Uncle Vernon said it was because of his freakishness that nobody liked him, and Harry was tempted to believe it. Harry tried really hard to be normal, but the freaky stuff kept happening. He started holding his breath when he was upset to make it stop, but if anything it got worse. He could feel something move under his skin sometimes, his freakishness probably. If he was bad for having it in him, it would be even worse if other people could actually see it, so he stayed in his cupboard when he could. Nothing he did helped. 

  He didn’t understand why he had to be so bad. A part of him hoped his aunt and uncle were liars and he could be good. A quick glance at the marks on his walls from burning ice swept that hope away.

 

  Jadis saw the magic around her target’s den. It wasn’t theirs, someone else had put it there. She was careful while moving through it. The magic tried to push out her good-human blood, forcing her to shift to her true blood to pass through. She had no issue forcing the door open to enter the den. It reeked of bad-human, with only a single corner behind another door holding a good scent. She would have ignored the bad one's entirely if they hadn’t started screaming. They had seen her, if she wanted to stay hidden they would need to be dealt with.

  They were bitter-tasting. As Jadis took a minute to wipe the taste from her tongue, she smelled the special good-human’s magic through the door. 

 

  Harry froze in his thoughts when he heard the door outside crack. Something big plodded in through the doorway, sniffing loudly for… something. Distantly, he wondered if it had come to take bad boys like him away. When his aunt started screaming, it went past his room towards them instead. The screaming got louder as his uncle joined in and whatever had come inside  _ did something _ . Harry couldn’t tell what he was hearing after the screaming stopped. He sat petrified for what felt like hours before it came back for him. It stopped outside his door and spoke to him.

  ~ _ Come out, I am here for you.~ _

__ Harry knew better than to ignore directions, he opened his door and stepped outside to get a look at what it was. It was scaly, and he thought he could see a pair of wings curled up on its back.

  ~ _ A dragon?~ _

Said dragon simply nodded.

_   ~But why? I’m bad, why would you go out of your way to get me.~ _

She looked at him strangely.

_   ~Its this place that has made you bad(sick), I am taking you away so you can be good(healthy.)~ _

  Was it really that easy? He could go somewhere else and not be bad anymore? His freakishness pulsed under his skin, like it knew something he didn’t. Maybe it did. Weird things happened near him all the time, and now a dragon shows up and starts talking to him. This sounded like something from one of the storybooks in the library at school, with magic. Was his freakishness… actually magic? Okay, he would go with the dragon. If he was magic, there was probably something important he should do with it. He walked with her out the door silently, before sitting on her back to be flown away.

  ~ _ My name is Jadis by the way, Jadis Dorcas.~ _

 

  The wind racing past them was the best thing Harry’d ever felt before. He envied Jadis now, she got to do this whenever she wanted! He wished he was a dragon. After enjoying the feel of it for a minute he decided he should know more about his magic before they got wherever they needed to go.

  ~ _ Are there other people like me? With magic I mean.~ _

  ~ _ Some. They stay in certain places though, so if you find one, more will be closeby.~ _

_   ~Why weren’t there any near me?~ _

_   ~I don’t know, but I promise to fix it.~ _

_   ~Is that where we’re going? Where there’s more?~ _

_   ~Yes. I can smell their magic. I’m taking you where the biggest group is, so we can know more and understand.~ _

_   ~We?~ _

_   ~Mostly you. I can’t understand the markings that they use to share knowledge, so you will need to help me there.~ _

_   ~That makes sense. Will you stay close to me in case something happens?~ _

_   ~I can walk beside you as a human; I will be by your side at all times.~ _

  They arrived on the edge of London. Like Jadis said, she took the shape of a girl his age with dark red hair and freckled skin. Harry was worried. What if the wizards didn’t want him either? His own family hated him, there was no reason he could think of that perfect strangers would be any better. Jadis seemed to hear his thoughts, because she gently held Harry’s hand and whispered to him.

  ~ _ If they do not like you, that is their mistake. I will like you enough to make up for it.~ _

  Harry nodded at her, then the pair started walking.


	2. Chapter 2

_   ~We’re here.~ _

_   ~What? It’s just a pub?~ _

_   ~Can’t you sense something strange about it?~ _

_   ~’The leaky cauldron’  _ **_is_ ** _ a weird name for a business... ~ _

  They went inside to a bunch of people dressed strangely for the middle of the city. Harry figured wizards like him just dressed like that. Jadis tapped his shoulder as he looked around.

  ~ _ I forget to tell you something.~ _

__ Huh? Was there something he needed to do or say before he could come in?

_ ~I need you to speak for me as well.~ _

_   ~But you’re talking to me right now.~ _

_   ~Only because you have a special skill. Other wizards can’t understand me.~ _

__ Well that figured. He was kinda hoping Jadis could do most of the talking so he wouldn’t embarrass himself.

_ ~Ask the man ahead where to get a magic-stick, all wizards have them.~ _

_   ~...You mean a wand?~ _

_   ~Wand, yes wand!~ _

  Okay then, the man behind the counter could tell him where to get a wand. Holding tightly onto Jadis, he walked up to him to ask his questions. It took some doing to get the man’s attention being as small as he was. Frustratingly, for all his efforts all he got was a quick command to run back to his parents if he needed something. 

  Harry quickly gulped down his upset and looked to Jadis for some more advice. She was already gazing intently at the other wizards. A small tug on his shirt let him know she had another lead, a woman heading out into the alley. Sure enough, they turned the corner to see her open up a dead end into a street filled with shops and more wizards! They passed her on the way in, Harry almost pulling Jadis along to see it all faster. Almost.

  Jadis was nervous for completely different reasons. She’d never been this close to such a large group of wizards before. There were so many different smells and sounds, she could easily get lost or lose track of her charge if she became unfocused. It helped that they both kept one hand on the other at all times. She gave most of the… what were they called?  _ Houses, _ that’s it! She gave each of the houses a passing look to see which one might have something her Harry needed. The big stone one at the end of the path looked promising. It was only right that her little wizard have only the best, and what shows best like large size and the smell of metal?

  As they stood in front of the doorway inside, she noticed the first complication in their trip. Goblins were everywhere inside the building. Jadis knelt down and whispered more directions into Harry’s ear.

_ ~There are goblins in there, which means there is gold. We can look around, but be careful.~ _

__  Harry nodded his understanding. The words on the front said it was a bank, so having money wasn’t that odd. He was certainly glad for the warning about goblins when he saw them all behind the counters. They found an empty place to stand and watch the people do their business for a few minutes.

  To both their surprise, one of the goblins came up to them as they observed. 

“Excuse me,” The goblin said to Harry “May I have your name?”

  Harry didn’t see anything wrong with introducing himself.

“Harry Potter, sir. What is yours?”

  The goblin arched a brow at that, whether it had to do with his name or his question was unclear. Either way, they didn’t seem to dwell on it too long before continuing.

“Would you be willing to do a blood test to prove it, Mr.Potter?”

  Prove his name? Why would he need to do that? Then again, standing around in a bank was weird, he should probably take the test so the goblins know he’s not a delinquent like aunt Petunia said. He nodded and followed them into a side room with a specially carved knife and piece of brown paper lying on a table. The goblin stood on the other side of the table and got right down to business.

“Cut your finger with the knife and place three drops of blood on the parchment.”

  Parchment? That must be a fancy word for paper. He could do that no problem. The knife stung, like cuts usually do. He held his finger over the parchment and squeezed out one, two, three drops just like the goblin said.

  As soon as the last drop met with the parchment, ink began to scrawl over it, first his name, Harry James Potter, then a few more lines. The first two lines went above his name and led to what he assumed were his parents names, Lilly Ann Potter nee Evans and James Potter. The three of them all had a symbol underneath of a stick with light coming out the end, were they wizards too? The third line stuck out to the side of his own, to the nice girl that had taken him away from the Dursleys. This line was filled with loops and twists, unlike the line to his parents that was straight with only two curves. Under Jadis’ name (Jadis Dorcas Potter-Weasley,) there was another symbol, this one of a dragon. Harry didn’t need to guess what that one meant.

  The goblin eyes hovered over Jadis’ name for a second before clearing his throat.

“Well met Mr. Potter, we are honoured to have you here. Please allow me to introduce you to your account manager, it is custom for one's first official visit to Gringotts.”

  As they walked deeper into the building, Harry realized that Jadis hadn’t said anything since stepping inside. A quick look to see how she was made it obvious that something was making her uncomfortable. Her eyes darted from one side of the space to another, in addition her posture and gait were stiff like she expected something to happen.  _ Don’t dragons like collecting gold? Being in a bank with a lot of gold she can’t have must be annoying. _ Silently, he hoped the introduction went quickly so Jadis would feel better.

  Heading down a few well-furbished tunnels, they came upon yet another chamber. This one looked to be the office of the goblin already there. They looked up at the group when they entered.

“May your investments flourish Grannok, I assume this is Mr. Potter?”

“May your enemies fall to your blade Nadgit, it is indeed. He has brought his familiar as well.”

  The two of them continued to converse for a time, switching to some language Harry couldn’t make heads or tails of. Finally, Nadgit turned to face him instead, thankfully switching back to english.

“Please do sit down Mr. Potter, we have much to discuss.”

  He sat in front of Nadgit’s desk and listened while they pulled several parchments covered in numbers and writing and talked to him about what they meant. They told him how the things his parents and grandparents did were making him money, which didn’t make much sense. His parents were drunks and deadbeats, how could they be rich? Did his aunt and uncle lie about everything? Why was he with them in the first place if there were other wizards he could have stayed with? He was a freak, he had to be! Why else would nobody have wanted him? The pulsing under his skin wasn’t right, he was stupid for thinking it might be. He wanted to hide, he needed to---

  He realized he was wrapped up in warm scales. Despite the heat coming from Jadis, he still felt cold down to his bones. 

_ ~You’re safe, I will protect you.~ _

  That was the first thing she’d said for a while. She must be feeling better. Good. It must be hard for her to help someone like him.

  ~ _ I’m sorry I messed up Jadis.~ _

__ ~ _ I know, and I forgive you.~  _ She crooned  _ ~The goblin is sorry as well for scaring you, and has promised to talk more slowly so they won’t do it again.~ _

__ Nadgit. They had been going on about impossible things his parents did, things that simply couldn’t be right. They had him mixed up with someone else, that was the only explanation; he better clear this up before they tried to give him something that wasn’t his.

  “Um, Mr. Nadgit? I hope your money does well, but I don’t think I’m who you think I am.”

  Jadis moved out of his line of sight so he could see the person he was talking to. Nadgit was there, unharmed but with his shirt worse for wear. Several papers had been blown onto the floor somehow, and the place Harry had been sitting had a coating of black ice like the stuff in his cupboard.

  Oh no. His freakishness came out. Nadgit knew what a bad person he was.

  Jadis’ head came to rest on his shoulder, startling him out of another spiral. He took a shaky breath and grabbed one of the horns on her head to help him focus. He took another look at Nadgit. The goblin wasn’t snarling or frowning at him like he expected. Maybe it was okay.

  Once Nadgit could tell Harry was paying attention he gave a response to the boy’s statement, odd as it was.

“And may your enemies tremble before you. You took a test upstairs that gave your name, correct?” Harry nodded.

“Then your name is Harry James Potter?” Another nod.

“There is no mistake here. May I ask why you think there is?”

  He gulped. He wasn’t stupid or a liar, so he would tell Nadgit the truth, as embarrassing as it was.

“I was told my whole life that my parents were penniless and drank a lot. They can’t have left me much money. Even if they did, my aunt and uncle would have taken it all and spent it on my cousin.”

“Did Dumbledore not tell you the truth about your parents?”

“Dumbledore? Who’s that?”

  Nadgit paled where he sat. He asked Harry to stay in the room for a little longer while he went to check something, it would only take a minute.

 

“Damn wizards, leaving one of their own children believing lies, the one to destroy the dark lord no less… Now, where is that file?”

  To say Nadgit was irked on his client’s behalf was an understatement. Having someone as high profile as the last Potter out in public with only a single companion  who was a child themselves set off alarm bells right away. Grannok had done good to let Nadgit know his suspicions, it certainly took the edge off his shock when the boy had an outburst of  rotten magic in his office. A picture was starting to form within only a few moments of meeting, and it was something Nadgit could not abide as the boy’s manager. 

  It also didn’t hurt that young Potter was very polite for a wizard-spawn. It was nice to hear him put some effort into his manners, as clumsy as they were. ‘I hope your money does well’, how amusing! 

  Ah, there it was. The organizer of the forms office had an annoying habit of changing their locations whenever work was slow. One day block 34b would contain audit requisitions, the next it could be full of will editing requests! He was almost glad his position as Potter account manager didn’t need him to come here that often. Although, the only reason it didn’t was due to the fact there was no active head making investments that would require it. Without anyone to give permission on new ventures he was practically a mere accountant!

  He tucked the ‘guardian financial mismanagement’ package under his arm and sped back to his office. On the books, Dumbledore was the guardian of Harry Potter, and therefore could, and had, withdrawn funds to presumably assist in the boy’s upbringing. Neither the boy, nor the dragon were wearing decent clothing, a thing which admittedly could be explained as them being casual wear. Taken with their complete lack of awareness of their standing and ‘guardian’s’ identity though, it was enough evidence to investigate what the wizard was really doing with young Potter’s gold. Nadgit would not let his client to be cheated, his honour as a goblin wouldn’t allow it!

 

  Charlie was having a  _ bad day. _ He was happy at first when Jadis went off the radar (independence was part of growing up after all,) he figured she’d only found an out-of-the-way place to set up her den that they hadn’t checked yet. When a few weeks went by without any sign of her, he began to worry. It wasn’t exactly easy to miss a hunting horntail. As much as he would have liked to think he gave her the best start he could, he couldn’t shake the memory of the sick hatchling she used to be. She was only a yearling. If any of the adults had a problem with her, it would be over before they even knew what happened. Add that into the sickness that the healers had no clue how to treat, and it was a perfect breeding ground for dread.

  Some of the other yearlings were already beginning to struggle with fatigue like their mothers. None of them had died yet, thankfully, but Charlie still expected to stumble upon a body as he made his rounds. Every day he went there was nothing. Today would have been nothing as well if one of the other keepers hadn’t stopped him on his way into the wilds. Apparently there was something serious going on that everybody on the preserve had to hear about immediately.

  Somebody had a newspaper from britain owled out here apparently, and guess what was on the first page! Wild dragon sightings across the country! The picture the paper had used wasn’t that great, and said dragon was flying at a bit of an altitude, so he couldn’t be completely sure, but he was willing to bet that it was a Hungarian horntail in the picture. What would one of them be doing in Britain? He hoped his relatives didn’t come across it. His speculating was interrupted by one of the managers coming to talk to him.

“Any luck finding that yearling of yours Charles?”

  Charlie responded in the negative, he hadn’t seen so much as a footprint of Jadis’. That answer didn’t seem to be what the manager was looking for. 

“I see… we should have a talk in private, I think.”

“If there something you need to tell me then go ahead.”

  They rubbed their neck a bit, clearly uncomfortable with whatever news they had to share.

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Jadis disappears without a trace, then a wild dragon of the same species shows up a long way from her natural territory. You grew up in Britain, right?”

  Charlie was shocked.

“Are you saying she got through the wards? I thought they couldn’t get through!”

“Hatchlings can’t, but the bigger, stronger ones mostly stay out of habit; they could leave if they felt like it. Yearlings aren’t normally strong enough to pass the wards but…”

“It’s within the realm of possibility.”

“Definitely.”

  On the one hand, it sounded completely crazy. A yearling flying across Europe alone?! On the other, if it was Jadis he needed to bring her back home as soon as possible. It was one thing to hand-raise a dragon that would be staying in a preserve, it was completely another for a hand-raised dragon to be loose around major population centers!

“If it is Jadis, then I need to be part of the retrieval team. She knows me.”

“Look, I appreciate the enthusiasm, maybe once you figure out why she jumped ship in the first place we can work on bringing her in.”

“But--- If the ministry there catches her---”

“I’m assigning you as part of a team to figure out what the problem is on our end. There won’t be much point in bringing her here if she decides to leave again.”

  Charlie could, reluctantly, see the logic in that. As much as he wanted to get Jadis back as quickly as possible, this place had some problems to solve before that could happen.

“Sounds good, who’s in my team?”

 

  Nadgit entered his office where young Potter and his companion were waiting.

“Now, let’s get everything sorted out. Have a seat.”

  Harry climbed onto the chair without delay.

“Your parents did indeed leave you some money, a fair amount in fact, but the man I mentioned earlier, an ‘Albus Dumbledore’, has tricked everyone so he can take it for himself.”

  He was careful to pause a moment in between statements so young Potter could process everything without another outburst. The boy still looked rather shaken from the first one. When the boy didn’t have any questions yet, he pressed on.

“He told everyone that he was taking care of you, which you know to be false seeing you’ve never heard of him. I have some papers here that will keep him from taking more money, and see about getting what he stole back.”

  A folder came up from under the desk and came to rest on the table. It had Harry’s name in big curly letters on the front. Nadgit picked it up and scanned through the papers within.

“It says here that your parents named three total godparents who could take you in instead of Albus. Since two of them are currently unavailable, that leaves one Severus Snape. 

In order for him to be able to take you in, you need to tell someone, possibly me, of what conditions you were living in so Albus can be removed as your current guardian. Will that be an issue?”

  Harry didn’t have a problem with that. Nadgit had seen his freakishness and didn’t hate him after, what harm could it do to tell him about other stuff?

“No issue Mr. Nadgit, in fact can I do that now?”

  Nadgit flashed a quick grin at Harry, one he happily returned, before pulling out yet another paper and placing it on the desk. He grabbed a large feather and a small jar of ink before gesturing for him to start talking.

  He made sure to tell everything as well as he remembered, where he slept, what chores he had to do, how when Dudley had gotten tired of something he sometimes got to keep it, and how he only really went by ‘Harry’ when he was at school. All in all, he was confident he’d mentioned everything important. If he’d forgotten something, it wouldn’t matter once he went to his new family.

  Nadgit also mentioned how since it might take a while for Snape to show up, he and Jadis might be staying with him for some time. In the meantime, Nadgit called for a healer to check them over. They didn’t do a whole lot, just gave him some jars of juice to take with his meals to help him grow.

  While they waited, Harry asked lots of questions(mostly his own, but Jadis did chip in) and learned a lot from Nadgit about finances. They also got to try goblin food when dinnertime came, some kind of stew made from beetles and worms and stuff, heated until it bubbled. Once night came they took a cart to the deep underground where Nadgit’s house was. Once they were settled Harry started asking about how the cart tracks were made and what it was like to be underground all the time. 

  Nadgit was surprisingly enjoying talking to the wizard spawn. This boy had a sharp mind, and had no problem actually listening to his explanations when given. He was just about to get into the ores one could spot when a messenger goblin came to speak with him. They carried a summons from the King himself for Nadgit to appear before him immediately. He shooed Harry and the dragon off to bed before leaving for his meeting.


	3. Chapter 3

  When Nadgit entered the royal court, he noticed most of the others who had come were those who worked at Gringotts like him. There was Grannok with a confirmation of identity paper, a few elders in historian dress, and the apprentices of some of the lesser account managers all standing in silence as his majesty Urp-hadgiluk sat in his judges pulpit.

  When his majesty looked up to see him enter, he called the meeting to order with a single strike of the gavel.

“May our kingdom prosper forever. Now that all are present for this matter, let us discuss the subject of one Harry Potter. Grannok is called to testify.”

  Said goblin obediently climbed into the witness stand and showed the paper in his hands to the audience. After receiving a nod from his majesty to begin, he gave his testimony.

“I was in between appointments when I spotted a boy and a dragon in human disguise loitering in the admissions area. As far as I am aware such a thing has never been seen, so in the interest of knowledge I approached them and asked about their business. The boy told me his name was Harry Potter, and since that name is high-profile I had to make sure he was telling the truth, so I asked him to use blood identification to confirm. The results did prove he was Harry Potter, but also brought up an anomaly.”

  Grannok gestured to the paper in his hands.

“His blood results showed a connection through a looped line, to a name he used to refer to said disguised dragon. In addition the name had a symbol of a dragon underneath, signalling that somehow, this dragon is considered an immediate relative to the young Potter. As I have never heard of anything like this, I forwarded a query to the historians to check for a precedent, which is how our King first learned of it.”

  He bowed to show his part was complete and returned to the floor.

“Historian Ekkbog is now called to testify.”

“Upon receiving witness Grannok’s query, I was reminded of the documents I have studied of the old days of Merlin. One of Merlin’s associates was a man named Archimedes. This name was shared by his companion owl. Upon cross-referencing articles on these two characters, I have come to the conclusion that they are the same entity, what Merlin called his ‘familiar’. Upon conferring with my associates on the matter no greater precedent was found in our records.”

“You believe that young Potter is showing similar magics to the great wizard Merlin?”

“I do, your majesty.”

  The apprentices couldn’t help but titter among themselves at this revelation, and honestly Nadgit didn’t blame them. Merlin’s time was known to have been prosperous indeed, greatly due to his influence in creating the empire of Albion. According to the stories gold flowed like water in the ancient kingdom. Another wizard with such a rare similarity was a good sign for business.

“Now that the first part of our subject has been addressed, we have decided to now evaluate the investment potential of Potter.”

  Apparently a good enough sign for the crown to want a hand in it. Maybe if he played his cards right he could receive a raise or extra privileges as the manager of a highly valued client.

“Manager Nadgit is called to the stand, to testify and answer questions as needed.”

  He took his place on the witness stand with head held high.

“In the time I have spent with Potter, he has shown intelligence and a desire for knowledge that could serve him well in financial matters given the right upbringing. His magic is strong, and his companion is far from disappointing herself.”

“Yet despite his promise, you have filed against his current named guardian, what were your reasons for this?”

“It was brought to my attention that Albus Dumbledore had not been fulfilling his role as Harry’s guardian, while still claiming the benefits thereof.”

His majesty’s gaze narrowed as the crowd began to murmur again.

“I filed against him to stop this egregious breach of trust and recoup the stolen funds.”

“Is Potter aware of these actions?”

“Yes, I fully disclosed the crime that was committed against him, and that I will be working to repair this error.”

“Do you believe this event will harm future ventures with Potter?”

“I do not, he has been nothing but understanding on this matter.”

  One of the historians let out a small sigh of relief at that. With that issue resolved, they began to discuss proper punishment, bearing in mind that not only was the Potter family a long-time client, but the current heir with possibly Merlin-like power was the one trespassed against. Even the apprentices were putting forth their own suggestions on the subject, and were currently arguing whether the man’s assets should be seized and handed over to the Potter accounts regardless if the money was paid back or not. Nadgit was certain the King would not be merciful in his judgement.

 

  Professor Severus Snape had spent most of the evening grading his sixth-years summer essays, so he didn’t get around to going through his mail until it was past curfew. They were the typical royalties on the research papers he had made after gaining his mastery, along with one official Gringotts envelope. He wasn’t aware of any reason for this, as he had already received his financial report for the term, so he elected to open it first to correct this oversight.

_ To Severus Tobias Snape, _

_ A matter has come up regarding a Harry James Potter, whose mother Lily Ann Potter nee Evans has named you as his godfather. As his previous guardian has proven unsuitable, you are required to make an appointment at your earliest convenience to do the necessary paperwork in order to take up guardianship. _

_   Gringotts. _

  The first line was enough to give Severus pause. It was a surprise that even though they were still at odds before, Lily trusted him enough to take care of her son. He could vividly remember how furious she had been once that cursed slur left his mouth, and he had been too proud in the years afterward to properly apologize until it was too late.

  The rest of the note wasn’t much easier to swallow. Unsuitable? Dumbledore had personally assured him that Lily’s son was safe and cared for, what could have happened?

  That he was obligated to care for him though, that was the worst surprise. The school year at Hogwarts had barely begun! Even if the message had come during the summer months, he had a binding contract of employment with the headmaster requiring him to teach there. He lived on campus, how exactly was he supposed to care for a child?

  Even as his mind spun with excuses and questions, he found himself seeking out Professor sprout, the head of Hufflepuff for advice. She was decent as far as coworkers went, and their shared duties as head of house meant she could fully understand what difficulties there would be in this situation. Her reputation among the staff as being a more accommodating teacher may have also helped, she might be able to think of some way to make it work against all the odds.

  The hufflepuff common room wasn’t locked up like the other house entrances. It was an extension of Helga Hufflepuff’s welcoming policy, as she likely hadn’t approved of puzzles and passwords further dividing the houses from each other. He was able to walk right in among the older students finishing up a gobstones tournament with some of the muggleborn first-years. His presence was noted almost immediately, with a seventh-year approaching him and asking if he needed Sprout. 

  It was always refreshing to speak to someone with good sense, no matter how brief. He confirmed it for the seventh-year and let himself be led to Sprouts office. To her credit, she only looked taken aback for half a second before getting used to the fact antisocial Severus had sought her out in her home turf. She called up some tea from the kitchen and offered some before asking about his business.

  He figured after the shock of a letter he’d received some tea might help him think clearly, so he politely accepted the offer before informing her of his situation, minus specifics like names and such. She was quiet, and paid rapt attention as he talked before he quieted to let her pitch in.

“I don’t imagine hiring a sitter would be easy on a teachers salary, are you sure you can’t get a different job?”

“I am afraid I cannot, until my contract expires I must remain here, and that won’t be for quite some time.”

  Pomona furrowed her brow as she pondered this predicament. Severus clearly wanted to care for whoever this child was, or he wouldn’t have come around asking for advice like he had. The only property he owned was in poor condition and would cost a small fortune to bring up to snuff though, and the issue of proper supervision was another matter entirely. The only way he could make sure the child was safe while staying in his budget would be…

“You don’t suppose they could stay with you in Hogwarts, do you? There are plenty of unused spaces you could set them up in if your own quarters aren’t enough.”

  Severus slowly nodded at that. It would certainly solve his more pressing concerns. If Albus weren’t the headmaster, he may have left it at that and moved ahead. As it were, he was uncertain of the man’s role in Harry’s life. He was told Harry was safe, if Gringotts saw fit to intervene that couldn’t have been the case. He needed to know if Albus had deliberately lied to him before he risked bringing Harry too close.

  But perhaps it didn’t have to be a risk. Pomona was right that many rooms at Hogwarts stayed empty year-round, and it wasn’t like Albus patrolled those halls in his spare time. It would be child’s play to outfit a room for Harry without tipping anyone off.

  What then of his teaching duties? He had multiple classes a day, and had a routine of remaining in his office to do grading for several hours at a time. To break that routine would definitely raise suspicions. Harry might be able to stay in the classroom for his post-owl classes, they were responsible enough to not put bystanders in danger when they brewed; the rest though, children were terrible gossips. Harry’s presence would be common knowledge by lunchtime at the latest.

  Every way he thought about it, it was impossible to bring Harry here without being discovered. Maybe that could still be acceptable. As much as he preferred moving from the shadows he was well aware of the benefits of a spotlight. Severus shook that thought out of his head quick. That kind of attention was most commonly used as an offensive tool in his experience. He’d been on the receiving end of one too many turned backs to consider encouraging that behaviour in any child he raised, but Harry being who he was, it was practically inevitable.

  That was that then, the only way for Harry to come stay with him would  be if  _ Harry wasn’t Harry. _

_ … _

“That’s it!”

  He realized Pomona was positively  _ beaming _ at him now. He quietly thanked her for her time and returned to his office to respond to Gringotts’ letter.

 

  The royal court session had gone on for hours now, with at least one specialist from practically every profession goblins had being summoned to testify. It had an almost soothing ebb and flow to it, there would be talk of fines and repossessions, then the focus would shift to gaining the boy’s favour almost entirely. 

  The arrival of the latest summoned goblin wasn’t all that notable, and the gathered mob barely acknowledged it. He paid his respects to Urp-hadgiluk and took a historian off to the side in order to go over the gathered evidence. Potter’s identity test had no real use at that point, it was only still in the courtroom for the sake of protocol. What this new goblin wanted to understand was the account he had given of his experience with improper guardians. A few paragraphs in the last eight pages in particular interested him. The boy spoke of ‘freakishness’(the word he associated with magic---a worrying fact in itself,)and how it was getting harder to keep in, how it came out sometimes when he didn’t mean to bring it out. 

  He was no historian, that was why he had called one over, but he could vaguely recall an account he had read some time ago that worried him. It wasn’t that old, only about seventy years, but it had happened over in the americas. The only reason a british goblin had concerned themselves with it was because of some inheritance issues with a relative on this side of the pond.

  A powerful magical child had severe power modulation problems as a result of trauma in his youth. He was not the first to have this condition, but was the only one to reach adulthood. The vast majority of such cases never reach puberty due their own magic tearing them apart. It was a sickness caused by hatred and fear of one's magic, two things that were abundant in Potter’s testimony.

  He asked the historian for any specific similarities that could offer clues to a proper response. They went to consult with the others for a time, before returning with a downright murderous look about them.

“It has come to our attention that the same Albus Dumbledore on trial here was a close relative to the case you mentioned, in fact he was the one to inherit the boy’s belongings after he succumbed to his obscurus.”

  Some of the nearby goblins heard enough of the conversation at that point to turn and listen.

“So he inherits from a relative that perishes from the condition, and now a boy officially in his care, with a decent inheritance himself, has started to show signs of the same. It is unreasonable not to suspect foul play at this stage.”

  Nadgit’s attention was caught at this point as well. Thinking back to when he had checked Harry’s general information to find a new guardian, he realized the man hadn’t been mentioned anywhere. He should have gone to a godparent once he was orphaned, and there was no evidence of even a trial period or summons to see he went with one of them. 

“His name is nowhere in Potter’s papers, Dumbledore never should have had Potter in the first place.”

  The historian nods at them both, and walks toward the judges pulpit as the shocked eavesdroppers part ways to let him through. The king gestures for him to speak.

“Evidence of further crimes committed by the accused has been collected, not only has he failed in his guardianship duties, he has unlawfully claimed the title of guardian itself. He has stolen funds from a valued client, stolen a child from their rightful guardian, and now stands under suspicion of the deliberate cultivation of an obscurus as well as theft of inheritance.”

  The courtroom was in uproar, even the more level headed goblins were letting some snarls slip. With one wrathful growl the king silenced the court.

  The historian presented the information he had gathered and waited silently as his majesty deliberated. The court waited in dreadful silence as minutes ticked by. Finally, his majesty called the trial to an end, standing from his seat.

“We have heard enough, the accused has made a mockery of our subjects, he has threatened our integrity and our future. We declare him guilty of larceny, and an enemy to goblinkind. All of his assets will be taken and used to pay restitution to Harry James Potter. This is his punishment for his theft.

  We also declare him guilty of crimes against magic, to allow and cultivate the existence of an obscurial. It is our decree that he be stripped of his gift, to preserve the dignity of it. Once Potter is of suitable age, he will be offered the power to add to his own as payment for suffering caused by the accused.

  Now for Nadgit, Potter’s account manager, we decree that he be temporarily suspended from his work thereof, and select an assistant from among the apprentices present to fulfill his duties while he ensures that our punishments for one Albus Dumbledore are followed through. Once this has been done he may resume his work, but may not dismiss his assistant. These crimes occurred under his watch, and will not be allowed to happen again.”

  In all honesty, Nadgit had expected he would be given consequences as well. It was true his oversight had let these things happen. He was grateful that his majesty would allow him to atone immediately, rather than undergoing a correctional period first.

  Nadgit scanned over the excited apprentices to get a handle on his options. They were all young, too young to begin specialising in any field. He instead focused on what he could glean of their attitude. That one was blatantly rubbing his hands together, he would become a threat to Nadgit’s authority the instant he thought he could pull it off. Another one bounced in place for his attention, they needed to mature a bit more before he would take them on. There was also one who stood still while he waited for Nadgit to inspect him. He realized Nadgit’s gaze had reached him and stood at attention immediately. That was promising. He pointed at them, signalling he had made his choice.

“Apprentice Elbog,” the king boomed “You are granted the title of assistant account manager under Nadgit, go and do good work.”

  Elbog’s ears pressed flat against his head in joy, and he wasted no time in falling in line behind his new boss as they retired to his home for the night.

  Elbog couldn’t believe it, he’d been given a job with the king’s blessing himself! He had expected to stay with the other apprentices for a few more decades at least before he would graduate to work of his own. Maybe if he did well for master Nadgit he could be named self-sufficient in his own right! The masters he had done errands for sometimes had thought he would have difficulty ever passing his exams when the time came, he had a nasty habit of putting objects above gold on his priority list, a big no-no when one was being raised to do finances. It didn’t help that the subjects he studied in his spare time weren’t always related to his career path. Nobody’d actually told him off for it, but he saw them stare at him.

  That was why he wanted to become an adult as soon as possible. He didn’t like it when other goblins stared at him while he was minding his own business. Once he was legally an adult, he could petition for any number of jobs that suited his interests, where he wouldn’t be the odd one out. As respected as the fortune tellers were, he didn’t really see how finances would be the best path in life for him. This job in a high-profile case could be exactly what he needed to prove his mettle and earn some respect of his own!

  Nadgit made sure to tell his assistant to be quiet in their home, he didn’t want to disturb their client’s sleep after all. The boy and his dragon had found an empty corner and curled up on the floor. The dragon was in her true form, and the boy was out cold curling into the warmth from her scales. The goblins went to Nadgit’s home office, where there were a few nooks in the wall suitable for a goblin to sleep in. There was a new letter on his desk from Mr. Snape. As it pertained to his client, he couldn’t open or respond to it given his suspension.

“Elbog! Read our letter and respond appropriately.”

  The letter was taken and read.

“He has agreed to take in Harry, and has asked for us to take specific measures to ensure his safety, including but not limited to a blood adoption and a glamour to change his appearance.”

“Did he give a reason?”

“Apparently he works under one Albus Dumbledore, and has his own suspicions of his doings.”

  ...Well that certainly made the task of finding the bastard easier.

“Approve the measures, and don’t be shy about throwing in a bonus where you can manage it. When he arrives make sure to ask him about our convict; habits, allies, enemies, whatever you can get.”


End file.
